New build - Asus Z170-P - No boot, cpu fan doesn't start, full orange glow from motherboard

Loial

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Sep 24, 2014
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Hi guys!

Just bought a couple of components to bring my computer up to par for VR, but I'm having no luck in getting this new rig to boot up.

Here are the specs

Motherboard: ASUS Z170-P
CPU: i5 6500
RAM : 2x 8GB Kingston DDR4 @ 2133MHz
Vid card: ASUS GeForce GTX 1070 TURBO
PSU: Corsair TX850W

What happens is that when I try to turn it on, my vid card and psu fans will start, I will get a green light on the modo standby LED.

However, the CPU fan doesn't start and the board has an orange glow that stays on until I turn the computer off again.

Has anyone ever encountered this ? I've tried looking up on Google that orange glow, but couldn't find a single thread with information on it so I'm pretty stumped.

Also -- currently don't have access to a motherboard speaker (chassis doesn't have one and stores are closed at this time), so I don't have any beeps to provide a clue.

Any help would be greatly appreciated by you guys, thanks in advance! :)

P.S. I've tried booting without the video card or the RAM in, and I have the same result. I've also tried with two different PSUs (that have been tested on other builds and work just fine), and I have the same result :(
 
Solution


I think at this point it's well and truly conclusive that the power supply is the problem unless anyone else has anything to add?
If it is the case, here are some good power supplies to replace yours.
750w will be plenty...


Sounds like a power problem. Turn off your PC, and check that all cables are securely plugged in at both ends.
Make sure your PSU is plugged in securely at the wall.
Remove the alkaline batteries from your motherboard while EVERYTHING is switched off, and put them back in after a bit. Attempt to boot.
If that doesn't work turn on the power switches again, but use the cmos jumper to wipe the motherboard BIOS.
Now try booting it as normal.
If that doesn't work, it is a power supply problem, and you need to replace it.
 

Loial

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Hi rdg1101, thanks for the quick reply!

Yes, in the manual it's the standy power LED (SB_PWR), and it is green when I switch the power supply on.
 

rgd1101

Don't
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No, the orange glow, it that a led or can you tell us where, or post a pic.
 

Loial

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Sep 24, 2014
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I'm going to try this right now. I've tried unplugging/replugging all the power cables, unseating and reseating the CPU, tried turning the computer on with only the CPU in, to no avail.

However after unseating and reseating the CPU, the system shuts down immediately after I press the power button (PSU fan will start but shut down immediately, cpu fan slightly moves never starts).

 

Loial

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Sep 24, 2014
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The orange glow comes from a series of 10-12 LEDs that are set on the underside of the board itself, spanning from the audio connector to close to the front panel audio connector. I unfortunately can't take a picture as I don't have access to a phone at the moment (I know I'm not helping my case here :( )

As far as benching goes, I've removed the board from the case, put it on cardboard, removed the battery for 20 seconds, put it back in, and I get the same result -- when I press the power button, the cpu fan will move about 2 cms, then stop, and I get the underside LEDs with this orange glow. :\

 

Loial

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Sep 24, 2014
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Sounds like a power problem. Turn off your PC, and check that all cables are securely plugged in at both ends.
Make sure your PSU is plugged in securely at the wall.
Remove the alkaline batteries from your motherboard while EVERYTHING is switched off, and put them back in after a bit. Attempt to boot.
If that doesn't work turn on the power switches again, but use the cmos jumper to wipe the motherboard BIOS.
Now try booting it as normal.
If that doesn't work, it is a power supply problem, and you need to replace it.[/quotemsg]

Hi Chugalug!

The board manual mentions the shorting the RTC RAM by using a screwdriver to short the two pins of the CLRTC, I guess that's what you mean?

 


You can do that, but here's a wikihow on what i'm talking about: http://www.wikihow.com/Reset-Your-BIOS#Resetting_the_Jumper_sub
Essentially a manual way of clearing the BIOS without a CMOS button, which your mobo does not have.


 

You'll need a metal instrument to jump the motherboard. Check through your manual again, because on the Asus specs page it says it has: 1 x Clear CMOS jumper(s)
 

Loial

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Sep 24, 2014
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Hi Tradesman!

I've tried removing the battery for a few minutes, but still have the same result....my problem is that I can't even get it to POST :( As soon as I push the power button, the CPU fan tries to start but half a second later it stops and nothing happens :\
 


I think at this point it's well and truly conclusive that the power supply is the problem unless anyone else has anything to add?
If it is the case, here are some good power supplies to replace yours.
750w will be plenty for you to SLI 1070s and overclock an i7 6700k if you choose to upgrade.
Some choices are the EVGA G2 750w or the XFX TS/XTR series 750w, just to name a few.
 
Solution

Loial

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Sep 24, 2014
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Hi again Chugalug!

I'm currently very inclined to think it is a DOA board, since both PSU I tried booting with work perfectly fine on other builds (I'm typing this reply on my secondary build, running a PSU I tried booting the new build on). I'm also running the new GTX 1070 on the secondary build and everything is just fine so I'm very perplexed.

Come Monday I'll go back to the store and try to have a replacement Z170-P board to see if it fixes the problem, and I'll update this thread :)

Out of curiosity though, why do you think it's a PSU problem? (I've stated that I tested with 2 different PSUs that work fine on other systems, but you might have missed that? No offense meant, I'm just wondering if it's something else that I said that makes you think that the PSUs are the problem?)

As quick side note, I've stumbled upon a thread on another site that seemed to say that the orange glow I'm seeing from the series of LEDs that are underneath the motherboard itself are purely decorative:

"That light is for decoration, not diagnostics. A lot of manufacturers nowadays like to include an LED along the PCIe slots that shows isolation of the audio components. In this case, ASUS choose an orange LED."
 


Oh, right!
Sorry, my bad.
I completely missed that last paragraph in your original post! :(
If the power problem checks out, then it'll be your motherboard.
Sorry if it seems like i'm jumping between conclusions. :)
The orange LED is in fact for decoration, but given the fact that every other procedure I can think of was undertaken, and the power delivery is evidently not a problem, the motherboard is the only potential problem left.
 

Loial

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Sep 24, 2014
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No problem at all! :) I'll go back to the store and have them take a look at the board & cpu -- hopefully I didn't bend any pins when installing it (couldn't see any myself when I looked so I should be good). I'll update the thread once I have more info!
 

Loial

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Sep 24, 2014
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Hey everyone!

Just got back from the store. To my surprise, when they plugged it in on their end the motherboard booted without a hitch, so needless to say I was pretty confused.

I got back home and tried the build yet again, however with yet another PSU, and lo-and-behold, it boots!

My guess is that the other ones I tested it with maybe had voltage variations which the board was really picky about, but honestly I still can't believe I had to test a fourth PSU in order to get it to work. I'm now on an old 650W and everything seems stable so far, I've even ran a PC Benchmark without any issues.

Cheers to everyone that tried to help me in this thread, much love to you all!